1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a skate boot and particularly to the construction of a skate boot for ice skating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The design of conventional ice skates has been generally directed to making a skate boot safe, in the sense of protecting the foot, and comfortable. The developments which have been made in the area of protection include the provision of a rigid toe cap, achilles tendon guard and eventually the use of ballistic materials, such as woven nylon uppers. All of these improvements have served to protect the foot against the rough and tumble play in the sport of hockey and particularly the impact of a hockey puck, the slashing of a hockey stick and the slicing of a skate blade. In this regard, the ankle area of the boot has been padded and reinforced rendering the boot substantially rigid and resistant to the flexing of the foot in the supination-pronation sense as well as dorsal-plantar flexion of the foot about the ankle. A good deal of attention has been given to the comfort of the foot in a static, unflexed position of the foot without considering the dynamic conditions of the foot in the action of skating.
Molded plastic skate boots have also been developed with a view to reducing the cost of manufacturing a skate boot. The molded boot anticipates dorsal-plantar flexion by providing a two-piece boot with the cuff or upper-upper portion being hinged to the lower-upper at the level of the ankle. However, in most cases the remainder of the skate boot is rigid while providing a comfortable environment for the foot within the shell of the molded plastic boot in the form of an inner soft boot or slipper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,276 issued Apr. 9, 1985, is directed to an improved partially molded boot which was designed with the above ergonomics in mind.
However, there does not appear to be a skate boot, particularly an ice skate boot, which takes into consideration the complete ergonomics of the foot during the skating movement.
For one thing, the foot is moving in a different direction, during skating, than the body. The skating action requires the feet to move alternately in lateral opposite directions relative to the longitudinal resultant direction of the body.
The foot and ankle include twenty-eight bones held by a strong but elastic system of ligaments. Ankle, foot and toe movements are produced by three groups of leg muscles and six groups of foot muscles.
Three actions dominate the complex skating pattern; these include flexing of the toes, flexion and extension of the ankle and a supination-pronation motion at the subtalar joint. During acceleration, the toes of the foot on which the weight is being shifted are flexed in order to secure the foot in the skate boot. The toes press against the inner sole, thus arching the foot so that the top of the foot presses against the tongue and presses the heel into the heel counter.
As pressure is applied to the foot, a pronation motion occurs followed by a supination during the foot extension during plantar flexion. This increases the reactive force applied to the body propelling it forward.